Crystal - Hi Shona! Thanks for stopping by Redheads Review It Better today. Could you tell us a little about yourself, my dear?

Shona -Well I’m a natural redhead and I live in Australia so I burn in about 10 minutes :) I like chocolate and books—I grew up reading fantasy novels—and I write paranormal romance. Making up new worlds and giving the hero and heroine a HEA at the end is the best job. I didn’t read a romance novel until my mid-twenties (I know, that’s terrible but I was reading fantasy novels and it never occurred to me that paranormal romances might exist). Once I’d discovered there were books full of magic and vampires and all manner of heroes, all with a happy ending, I knew that was what I wanted to write, and here I am.

C - Yay another redhead!! And don't feel bad, I just started reading them myself a few years ago in my early twenties. I am curious about how you came up with the Shadowlands series?

S - It was about 2am and I was feeding a restless baby when the idea jelled, however the elements had been rolling around in my head for a while. Cursed heroes, Roman Britain, magic, alternate worlds—I was just looking for a paranormal angle. What did the curse turn them into, and how did this affect them? Of course the answer came at the most inconvenient time, but in the morning I got up and scribbled down what was to become the first scene in The Goblin King.

C - How can you think that early? Lol. I'm pretty sure I was on autopilot with my little one for the nighttime feedings. When you got the ball rolling, how much/what kind of research went into this story?

S - Research sounds like it should take hours and be dry and boring. I did research for the books but I’m not sure how much. I love reading about Roman Britain, so that was fun and I had books already, so often I was just confirming something. For Kiss of the Goblin Prince I looked up natural therapies for asthma, things about past lives, magic and also read a few articles about people who had survived traumatic events. I guess my research style is continuous grazing as I never know what I might need later, even if it is for another story.

C - I am always curious about an author’s writing process. Are there certain steps you do/take every time you sit down and start the process of producing a new story?

S - For me working on the story starts before I start typing chapter one. I like to plot and get to know my characters and also get a feel for the story and some of the world. World building is as important as character building. In this series the Shadowlands had to exist as a real place, people needed to believe in the Goblin King myth.

Once I’ve plotted out the rough story arc (I like to know the big turning points) and I know what my characters want/need/fear I start writing. For novels I’ve recently started writing a paragraph per scene, before writing the first draft and this has really streamlined the process and helped unravel more of the plot. It’s much easier to shuffle or rejig 1 paragraph than a couple of thousand words.

C - That sounds great. Now I know many authors, while in their writing world, have to have complete silence and no interruptions while going through their process. Is this the same for you or are you the type of person who works better with some music to go with your writing?

S - I have two kids under ten; I can work through anything. I wrote an entire novel (Dark Vow) sitting by the side of the pool while they did swimming lessons. I’ve also learned to write in small chunks if needed—better to write 1 page while waiting for the pasta to cook that do nothing and wait for a 2 hour window. Having said that it is sometimes really nice to write after the kids are in bed and hubby has gone to play sports and I get 3 hours of silence.

C - I am in the same boat. Toddlers are not known to be quiet. Lol. What is your idea of an ideal guy whether it is supernatural or a normal, everyday sexy as sin alpha male? ;)

S - Ah well, what I like to read and what I want in real life differ wildly. In real life I like tall, dark and handsome nice guys with a great smile. Hugh Jackman always wins points for being such a family man. In books I love the tortured hero, the one with a wound in his soul that can only be healed by love, unfortunately in reality that doesn’t seem to happen as often as in books.

C - I'm with you on the tall dark and handsome. ;) When I was a kid, I saw myself growing up to be a famous singer. What did you say you were going to be when you were a wistful child?

S - I was always told I had an overactive imagination and I changed my mind every other day. I wanted to be Doctor Who’s assistant, an artist, a costume designer—all of which my mother assured would earn me next to nothing so I became a civil designer (exciting, I know), I became a writer by accident when I was on maternity leave and looking for something to do while the baby slept.

C - Civil designer huh? That sounds, umm, yeah...next question. I always like to ask this question to my authors. Keep in mind this is VERY important…boxers or briefs? ;)

S - Are we talking those fitted boxer type things? Them or commando.

C - Yes! A woman after my own heart. Thanks for stopping by and chatting with us Shona. It was great having you. :)

***Make sure you enter below in the giveaway. I am giving away 2 copies of The Goblin Prince. Giveaway runs through the weekend.***

KISS OF THE GOBLIN PRINCE BY SHONA HUSK – IN STORES NOW

The Man of Her Dreams…

He is like a prince in a fairy tale: tall, outrageously handsome, and way too dark for her own good. Amanda has been hurt before, though. And with her daughter's illness, the last thing she needs right now is a man. But the power of Dai King is hard to resist. And when he threads his hands through her hair and pulls her in for a kiss, there is no denying it feels achingly right.

In a Land of Nightmares…

After being trapped in the Shadowlands for centuries with the goblin horde a constant threat, Dai revels in his newfound freedom back in the human realm. But even with the centuries of magic he's accumulated, he still doesn't know how to heal Amanda's daughter—and it breaks his heart. Yet for the woman he loves, he'd risk anything...including a return to the Shadowlands.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A civil designer by day and an author by night, Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Drawing on history, myth and imagination, she writes about heroes who are armed and dangerous but have a heart of gold—sometimes literally. You can find out more information about Shona and her edgy romances at http://www.shonahusk.com/ or follow her on Twitter, @ShonaHusk.

REVIEW:

This is the first book I have read of Shona's and might I say, it was great! She brought two tortured souls together to make for some great chemistry. Let's take Amanda for example. She found the love of her life young but he was ripped away from her very soon after. She was left alone at the beginning of her pregnancy with her daughter. Fast forward to seven years later, she is dedicating all her time and energy into taking care of her severely asthmatic daughter. Amanda has never allowed herself to have any sort of love life because she knows at any second she could lose her little piece of her husband. Being a mother myself and married to a police officer, I know how hard it can be when they are not around to help out. I can't imagine how Amanda has pulled off being a single mother for seven years especially having to deal with her daughter's illness. The good part about this all? Amanda is much stronger than most women will be. Which she proves time and time again throughout the book. I don't normally get emotionally attached much to the female leads in books but I was right there with Amanda. What she felt, I felt. I don't think Shona could have written Amanda's character any better.

Now the bread and butter of this story...Dai. What can I say about this utterly tortured man. I am not familiar with his backstory since I didn't read The Goblin King, but I still wanted to reach in there and give Dai a big bear hug. Dai breaks a curse that has held him and his brother, Roan, in the Shadowlands for 2,000 years. Dai is nonetheless forced to live his life as a human but he doesn't think he deserves to live that way. He still feels unbelievable guilt for something he was forced to do during his time as a prisoner. Of course I would have a lot of guilt if I had to do what he did. Heck, I don't think I could even go through with it. Then on top of that, Dai had to watch his family succumb to the goblin side of life. I'm surprised he even has a heart left for as many times as it has shattered for his loved ones. We generally spend most of the story with Dai which was just fine with me. We already knew the score with Amanda, (Her issues are pretty simple compared to Dai's.) so it was nice to spend the time with Dai. I think that if he was never forced to interact with Amanda, I don't think he would have started to get better. Of course there were times when I was really concerned for his safety but we will chalk that up to being a typical male that is headstrong and likes to wallow in self pity. Work for you? Great.

There was one part of the book when Dai and Amanda are dancing that I just loved. You can tell that even though Dai has a dark and stormy past that haunts him every second of every day and night, he has a such a tender heart towards people he cares about. This itself is a blessing after spending 2,000 years fighting the urge to fully give himself over to the goblins. Now I do have a small complaint. After all we went through with these two, the ending could have been drawn out between our love interests. Come on! I want more of Dai's hottness! Lol! In all seriousness though, it was a great book. I do suggest reading The Goblin King though because there were some things that were mentioned or came up that I wasn't to sure about.

RATING:

Great twist away from the standard paranormal reads.

It could have been heavier but at least what we did read was done so nicely. ;)

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